Boat International US Edition – June 2019

boatinternational.com• 062019

Even in the chilly air of a November day

in San Remo, Italy, it doesn’t take much

effort to picture the sundeck as the nerve

center of the boat. It is with a wistful last

look around that I take Gibbs’s new

companionway down to the atrium on the

bridge deck below. It’s a functional space

• attractive enough – but this rather belies
  the effort it took to design. “There was a
  lot of work in the lobby,” Gibbs recalls.
  “We had to move the air conditioning and
  technical cupboards. I think we were all
  worried about that, but I’m astounded
  with the end result.”
  On the standard 131 layout, stairs come
  up from the main deck to give access to
  the bridge, the skipper’s cabin to
  starboard and a pantry and dayhead to
  port. They also lead to a large salon aft
  with couches and a bar. This page of the
  general arrangement has been torn up.
  The stairs have been rerouted and the
  cabinturnedintoagymhousingbikesand
  cross-trainers.MeetingGibbs,all6ft-plus
  ofhim,itissuddenlyclear
  whythedeckheadabove
  hadtoberaised.
  The pantry is now a
  bathroom,butthemost
  impressivechangeconcerns
  the boat’ssalon, which
  hasbeentransformedinto
  a stateroom with an
  emperor-sizedbed,floor-
  to-ceiling windowsand
  evenawalk-throughcloset.
  Interestingly,itissmaller
  than the designated
  stateroomforwardonthe
  deckbelow,butitisareally
  clevermove.“Ifyou’regoing
  todoovernightcruises,do
  notput your stateroom
  cabininthebow,”Gibbs
  says.“Inmyconfiguration,
  itissostableandsoquiet.
  Youalsohaveyourownprivatedeck
  behindyou.Inthemorningit’sgreat,
  too:intothegym,thenstraighttothe
  shower,change...”
  Despitetheselayouttweaks,theproject
  manageratSunseeker,MarkChinery,
  pointsoutthatmuchofitisjustskindeep.

“Although Elysiumdoeshave some

bespokeelements,thecoreoftheyacht,

layoutofsystemsandengineeringand

structuralbulkheadpositionsremain

faithfultotheoriginal 131 design.Without

thiselementofcontrol,wewouldnotbe

abletodeliverfour 131 yachtsperyear.”

ELYSIUMSUNDECK

Above: Gibbs moved

the spa pool to

the rear end of the

sundeck to make

way for the new

companionway

forward

SpapoolWithoutarescueboatto

clutterit,thisforedeckareaoffers

loungingspaceandaplungepoolthat

canbefilledwithfreshorseawater

Companionway

Foreasyaccess

betweenthebridge

andthesundeck

Second helm Owner Ron
Gibbs loves to drive the
boatinthefreshair,so
thesundeckhelmfully
replicatesthecontrols
onthebridge
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